Eldritch Horror Theatre

”What’s going on?”

”Wolf?”

The moment darkness fell again, two more cries of alarm rang out.

The sudden change finally broke the two assistants’ composure. They shouted in unison, betraying their anxiety over how things were progressing.

Yet even then, they received no response.

The basement remained completely silent. Mister Wolf had gone down to solve the problem, but he wasn’t making a sound.

And since the only Lighting Equipment was in his hands, staying up there meant waiting utterly blind.

”Is that thing... out of battery?”

The silence lasted about five seconds before slightly hesitant footsteps finally sounded, accompanied by the high-nosed student’s question.

As expected, he had beaten Butters to it. He even thoughtfully provided an excuse for Mister Wolf as he walked down.Though his tone wasn’t particularly polite, it was obvious he didn’t really believe the excuse himself.

Still no answer. The smell of dust mixed with blood made the atmosphere incredibly oppressive.

”You guys come in... and close that thing.”

The result was that after taking a few more steps, the high-nosed student suddenly turned his head and called up to the others.

”Huh? Someone needs to keep watch outside—”

Butters immediately sounded reluctant.

”It doesn’t matter.”

Unfortunately, he was instantly interrupted.

...

The stairs weren’t long. The trio soon squeezed together, their footsteps nearing the bottom.

But given how small the area was, it seemed no one wanted to be the first to take the final step.

”Mister Wolf?”

In the end, it was the high-nosed student again, asking cautiously into the dark.

”I’m glad to see young people these days still use honorifics.”

A few seconds after the call, the light flared back on in the dark space, searing their eyes.

Startled by Fu Qian’s commentary, the high-nosed student—who had been tentatively stepping down—stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

But regardless, the thick darkness was finally dispelled in an instant—only to be replaced by thick ”blood.”

Lurching forward two steps, he barely kept his balance. His hand nearly landed on the corpse just as a thick puddle of blood entered his view.

”What the hell are you doing? This joke isn’t funny at all!”

Just as the high-nosed student was rendered nearly speechless, Passerby B followed behind, expressing strong indignation despite his relief.

”Nothing. The situation is confirmed, so I brought you down to arrange an action plan.”

Casually tossing the Lighting Equipment aside, Fu Qian showed zero awareness that he had scared anyone.

”How... is he?”

That excessively leisurely posture somehow drained the heat right out of their pent-up anger.

Finally recovering his wits, the high-nosed student processed what Mister Wolf had said. He couldn’t help but shoot another glance at the ”corpse” with its head covered, asking the question with a complicated expression.

”Dead as a doornail. Want to double-check?”

Unfortunately, the Scavenger clearly didn’t care about their classmate camaraderie. Not only was his answer ice-cold, but he even gestured toward the corpse.

”No need... what do we do next? What’s the plan?”

At that moment, the high-nosed student’s foot twitched before pulling back, and he subconsciously looked toward the other assistant.

After an exchange of glances that felt like an eternity, however, he finally voiced his trust in Fu Qian’s judgment with a slightly dry voice.

...

It seemed Joshua’s actions this time really were improvised.

Taking in everyone’s reactions, Fu Qian silently made his judgment.

The two assistants were clearly anxious about Joshua’s condition. Combined with his earlier guesses, it was likely they only knew he had a crazy plan, but hadn’t been sure if or when he would actually pull it off.

So facing Joshua lying there right now, their feelings were a tangled mess; they weren’t even sure if he was dead or alive.

As for why they wouldn’t accept his invitation to check for themselves?

Expecting two high school kids to grope someone who might very well be an actual corpse in a pitch-black basement was asking a bit much.

Hesitating briefly and handing it completely over to a professional fit their current mindset perfectly.

”We take him with us, of course. Based on what we know, we’re tight on time, right?”

Without forcing the issue, Fu Qian spoke casually.

”Yeah... at the soonest, someone might come to inspect the house in half an hour.”

As a person involved, Butters finally found a chance to interject, his expression looking quite complicated.

”That’s plenty of time. But my car broke down outside. Did any of you drive here?”

”...No.”

The three of them answered almost in unison this time, looking as if they strictly followed the rule against drinking and driving.

”Then you guys are going to have to work a little harder. Grab him on either side and prop him up. Let’s move out.”

Fu Qian didn’t seem to mind at all, directly gesturing to the two assistants.

”...So what’s the plan? We’ll definitely be spotted if we go up. Sneaking to the door is impossible.”

This rapid escalation obviously left the guys bewildered, prompting the high-nosed student to ask.

”Why would we sneak? We’re walking right out the front door and saying goodbye to everyone on the way.”

Fu Qian just looked over with a weird expression.

”Huh? But this... when those people see...”

The high-nosed student was practically stuttering as he gestured at the blood on Joshua.

”We tell the truth. He’s dead, and I’m here to help dispose of the body.”

Fu Qian’s tone was flat and natural.

...

”Mister Wolf, leaving so soon?”

When the locked door was opened again, it was clearly Salma who noticed them first.

Her eyes immediately fell on Fu Qian’s face as she asked with a faint, mocking smile.

”Yeah, the job is done. I have to get back and entertain the next customer.”

Fu Qian nodded slightly.

Her expression and tone both felt somewhat loaded.

But flaws aside, Salma was still highly professional when it came to the drinks.

Not only had she mixed it perfectly, but she also had excellent professional ethics—she hadn’t secretly added anything extra to it.

Job is done... next customer...

His response clearly made Salma’s expression freeze, a reaction that spiked a second later when she saw the four people following him out.

”What happened to him?”

Staring at Joshua, Salma raised her voice.

And it wasn’t just her. The commotion here had already attracted a lot of attention, and the crowd was looking over.

”He was accidentally killed. I’m here to help deal with the corpse.”

Speaking the most terrifying words in the gentlest tone, Fu Qian smiled and glanced around. His gaze finally landed on Eva’s face nearby.

”If any of you run into this kind of trouble later, you can also look for me.”

...

”What do we do now?”

When they left that joyous party, almost every attendee’s expression was a picture of complexity.

Of course, they still couldn’t compare to Butters and the other two once they got outside. The recent experience seemed to make them feel completely disconnected from reality.

”What do you mean? My part is already done.”

Unfortunately, Fu Qian didn’t care about their feelings. As he spoke, he was already gesturing goodbye.

”But we don’t have a car—”

”Then find a place to stash him.”

Refusing to do a single shred of extra work, Fu Qian walked into the falling snow, throwing a final glance in a certain direction.

These guys had actually chosen to throw a party so close to the school.

[Current task completed. Containment 3-0205 successful.] (End of Chapter)